Proximity to job opportunities and digital hubs. A taste of what the locals experience. A touch of magic introduced by today’s technology. In a nutshell, those are the trends developing in the global service apartment industry in 2017. Global mobility specialists should be on the lookout for these trends as they can and will influence their assignee’s preferences in choosing their accommodations in their new country of employment.

Relocate Magazine reports that new serviced apartments are mushrooming in London near the IT sectors where a lot of work can be found. Another attraction is that these new buildings are near where the “tech action is.” Despite the surprises sprung by Brexit or the recent terrorist attack on Parliament, London residents still want to make sure they remain in their country’s main center for transformation and change. This same mindset continues to place Silicon Valley in the list of dream destinations of assignees, despite or perhaps because of President Donald Trump’s new more stringent laws on immigration and foreign employment.

What sweetens the deal for most assignees is their enjoyment of all the dazzling devices right at home. Proximity to places like Northern California, New York, Singapore, Berlin and other IT hubs certainly helps. An assignee gets a taste of the future as well as the rewards of his job as he does his flight plans with the virtual assistant installed in his home, or sleep to soothing music that automatically activates as he hits the sheets. California Corporate Housing offers a range of those digital devices in its serviced apartments: the voice-activated Amazon Echo, Virtual Reality games that can educate as well as entertain, and Comcast platforms that organize the assignee’s playlist and watchlist which can be played on demand.

Aside from the delights of technology, the younger assignees want to live life the way that locals do. Some might eschew the posher, prestigious yet more formal accommodations for more casual, yet comfortable living quarters that showcase indigenous design and architecture more suitable to the immediate environment. A more minimalist approach, a spartan look, and exotic-looking accessories might help them acclimatize to their new home.

The next time an assignee signs up for his international assignment, it would help if the global mobility specialist ask his preferences about his new digs. Is the assignee part of the trendy crowd? Would he want a “smart” home or just a personable one that welcomes him with its warm ambience? Does he want to live close to the malls, the banks, and the parks, or would he prefer somewhere private and secluded? Does he want accommodations that are designed to impress his visitors, or embrace them with its natural, heartwarming colors?

Answering these questions will help the global mobility specialist make his assignee feel more at home. And as far as performance on the job is concerned, that is half the battle won.